Exchange of Light alkenes and Alkyl halides from Arctic Tundra Ecosystem

ended

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) play a critical role in the physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere and regulating Earth’s climate. Among them, light alkenes and alkyl halides (e.g., CH3X) are also critically important for tropospheric ozone formation and stratospheric ozone depletion, respectively. However, global budgets of light alkenes and CH3X are not in balance because many sources/sinks have not been quantified realistically due to paucity of measurements; especially, fluxes in Arctic ecosystems have not yet been well established. Furthermore, drivers of the fluxes and their response to the fast climate change are yet to be unraveled. This proposed project aims to fill in the gaps of the state-of-the-art by (1) determining the sources/sinks of these VOCs in an Arctic tundra ecosystem; (2) quantifying how Arctic warming and increased atmospheric CO2 may impact the VOCs fluxes in the Arctic tundra ecosystems; (3) constructing the relationships between the VOC fluxes and environmental and biological factors to determine the drivers of variability and synchronicity of fluxes; and (4) constructing flux algorithms to be incorporated into the MEGAN model to enhance scientific understanding of VOC biogeochemistry and related environmental implications. The project takes an interdisciplinary approach involving atmospheric biogeochemistry, environmental chemistry, Arctic ecology and ecosystem modeling, which combines my research skills and expertise of the host. The expected high-quality publications, training and interdisciplinary collaborations will be valuable assets to support my career development. The effective dissemination of the research outputs will increase the public’s consciousness on earth system as a whole and the action of climate change mitigation, and will bring important social benefits by promoting the public’s agreements on EU’s goal of climate-neutral by 2050 and the implementation of European Green Deal.